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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23679607">The Undead Serpent</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellyPhilbrooks/pseuds/MellyPhilbrooks'>MellyPhilbrooks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Writing SP the way it deserves to be written [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:00:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23679607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellyPhilbrooks/pseuds/MellyPhilbrooks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nefarian Serpine deserved better and i'm determined to give him that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nefarian Serpine/Baron Vengeous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Writing SP the way it deserves to be written [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Meeting At Dusk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes this is a reupload onto my new account and i will be continuing it, please enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nefarian Serpine, Mevolen’s most trusted General, sat in the back of a luxury black car which had been parked down a hidden wooded path, the headlights turned off but the engine had been left running.<br/>
He lulled his head back against the headrest, his eyes landed on the roof of the car for a second before they closed, his mouth opened and out came an irritated sigh. It had been almost been a year since his near death experience with the Skeleton Detective and his <em>apprentice</em>. His injuries hadn’t been too severe but with the lack of access to his castle they had been problematic, however he had to give credit where credit was due Sagacious Tome had done his part and done it well—Enough. Though he had fled when Serpine has threatened him with the Scepter of the Ancients, he returned just when he needed him most, whether out of fear or loyalty Serpine did not care. </p><p>Tome had become a loyal pet over the past months, following Nefarian wherever he might need to go to as well as running errands for him. Of course Serpine had remained stone cold towards his new pet, favoritism was beneath him. </p><p>“They’re late.” Serpine breathed a sigh of irritation.</p><p>“They must have reason.” Tome’s voice was quiet from the front of the car, his hands curled around the leather steering wheel of the car and his fingers tapped.</p><p>Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.</p><p>“Must you?” </p><p>Silence. </p><p>Tap.</p><p>Just as Nefarian was about to object again a figure emerged from the treeline and onto the path, they moved seamlessly and with elegance, as if the uneven surface of the path was not there.</p><p>“Finally.” </p><p>Tome slipped from the car, prompted by a small cough from behind him. He hurried around the car and opened the door holding it as Serpine got out, blinking a few times to adjust to the darkness and the cold. He pulled at his coat, fixing it, making himself presentable though the process was pointless in just low lighting, but that wasn’t the point, he knew, thats whats mattered. </p><p>“You’re late.” Nefarian’s words hung in the cold air for a moment in the form of <em> dragon’s breath </em> before they disappeared, he took long but drawn out steps, his arms folded neatly behind his back. “Have you located him?” Tome followed behind his <em> master </em>, mirroring his posture.</p><p>The figure stopped just inside the shadows, their form was tall but slender with what looked to be pale skin and dark hair, but Tome wasn’t sure, Serpine on the other hand instantly knew who stood before them. </p><p>“The boat will be arriving tomorrow morning, in Dublin City.”</p><p>Serpine nodded, his face remained unchanged as he ran a hand through his thick raven hair, pushing out of his face and back into place. He turned to Tome and instructed him to return to the car before turning back to the figure, his arms folded behind his back again. There was hesitation from his new minion but after a few seconds of silence he back on and headed for the car, lingering by the door for a second with his mouth open but wisely chose against speaking and got in. </p><p>“Is it wise to keep him in the dark?” The figure questioned as he stepped out of the darkness and into the light, the moonlight illuminating his pale skin and dark hair. </p><p>“Are you questioning my judgment, Dusk?”</p><p>“No, of course not, but there is a mortal saying.”</p><p>“Mortals have a lot of saying.”</p><p>“True,” Dusk slipped his hands into his pockets, his eyes flicked over to Tome in the car then back to Serpine. “He is a liability, but of course, it is not my place.”</p><p>“You are correct Dusk, it is not your place.” </p><p>There was silence between the two of them for what felt like forever, Tome shifted in his seat. Now he was alone and their attention was off of him he could breathe a sigh of relief, his heart began to calm as he watched them talking. He’d spent almost all of his time over the past year following Nefarian Serpine around, doing whatever he’d asked him to, and still found the man hard to read in moments like this. Even though he’d practically saved the man’s life he’d been given very little access to it, or trust, but that was to be expected, he’d run, the second the scepter had been turned on to him. He’d teleported out of the room without giving another though, had it been a test or had he fully intended on killing him, he didn’t know, nor would he, but he’d come back, apparently just in time to grab him before the Scepter could be used against him. </p><p>While he’d been pondering over his own thoughts and reminiscing he hadn’t noticed the sudden change in behaviour, Serpine had become almost happy. His posture had changed and there was a smile painted across his thin lips that was different from the normal sinister one he normally wore. </p><p>For a moment he considered getting out of the car or rolling down the window to listen, to piece together what had lifted his cold mood so suddenly, but quickly chose against it when he noticed movement. Serpine had turned, his almost glowing emerald eyes on the car, staring right through him, wait, no, past him. His head turned slowly, a knot of fear built in the pit of his stomach, his eyes strained against the darkness, scanning the trees and bushes. It was nearly impossible to tell them apart in the darkness but there was some light in the distance. He twisted, turned to it and squinted, straining his eyes, forcing them to focus onto it. </p><p>A car. It had to be, what else could it be? What else would be this far into the woods?</p><p>Without a second through his hand turned the key in the ignition shutting off the car, his eyes locked on the light as it moved. Was it coming down here? Maybe he shouldn’t have turned off the car, if they needed to make a quick get away they’d need it on, could someone have seen them? Given them away? He thought he’d been careful when going out into public.</p><p>Tome turned his head away from the light and looked at Nefarian, waiting for some kind of sign some kind of leadership from him, anything that would tell him what he needed to do next. </p><p>Both Dusk and Serpine had their eyes fixed on the light, watching it move slowly, neither would work out if it was coming this way or just driving past. As he was about to talk a nod was given signalling him to stay, that he’d done good. </p><p>A sigh of relief slipped from his lips and his eyes flicked down, he calmed himself, everything was going to be fine, he wasn’t going to get caught, they were going to do this, it was really happening, the months of following Serpine around were going to be worth it. He was going to get his revenge. He was making a name for himself. He’d heard people talking, the things they said, they were growing scared of him. He’d taken on the Skeleton Detective. Nefarian Serpine had taken him under his wing. He was going places. This was his chance.</p><p>The sound of knuckles against the glass brought him back to reality, his head snapping up and looking towards the sound. Serpine stood at the passenger side of the car, a displeased look on his face. Within seconds he’d scrambled from the car around to the other side and opened the door for a very displeased and disapproving Serpine who slipped into the car without saying a word. He held back a sigh, now was neither the time and the place and if he were to get caught doing something so disrespectful in front of him, there would be punishment.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dublin City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Baron Vengeous would have much preferred to have slipped off of the boat and into the city without incident, but he knew all too well that you don’t always get your way. He’d moved quickly to kill the man that had spotted him, he didn’t have time to waste, he was a busy man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been too hard for Dusk to find him, their conversion had been quick, painless and to the point, as all conversation should be in Baron’s opinion. He didn’t have time to stand around letting the person natter on, there were things to do. There was too much to be done, he’d fallen behind thanks to his little trip to Prison. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Freedom felt good, he could walk freely once again without someone watching him, without having to watch himself, but he knew he still had to be careful, he was still a wanted man, but for now he was going to let himself enjoy the moment while he could. There was no telling how many more times he’d have like this, he had to make the most of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once again Nefarian Serpine found himself in the back seat of his car, this time however he was alone. They hadn’t been sat there long before Tome had become so insufferable he’d been sent away to run some errands and make the most of them being in the City, the most important being coffee. He would have liked to have something stronger to dull the headache that was building in his left temple but he needed to stay focused, to stay on top of everything. He wasn’t about to throw away the last years worth of hiding and plotting just because yet again Tome had given him yet another headache. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> His leg bounced up and down repeatedly, his eyes stared out of the front windshield.  He was going inpatient and worried. Had he been spotted? What if he hadn’t made it onto the boat? What if the boat had sunk? He shook his head almost violently and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. Baron would be fine, he could handle himself, he’d been doing it for centuries now. He was fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He fiddled with his phone turning it over in his hand, each time the screen face up it lit up but was quickly extinguished by his thumb lightly pushing the power button and flipping it over in his hand again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s okay.” He told himself, “He’s just late, the boat is late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the feeling of worry began to build within him again he noticed movement, he’d caught it in the corner of his eye while he’d been focusing on his phone. The shadows were moving, shifting. Someone was outside the car. He studied the shadows, watching them closely. There was something familiar about it, about the person shielded by the dark. It had to be Tome, of course it was, it was just his lucky he’d come back early. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least there’s coffee.” He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for that oh so familiar sound of how Tome seemed to always fall into the car. It was rather entertaining really, he always seemed to do it in the most graceful but clumsy way, you could almost call it cute, if it wasn’t accompanied by such an ugly grunt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shadows shifted again, drawing closer to the light and as Nefarian shifted to sit up straighter his phone went off. The sound startled him at first, he wasn’t expecting it, but you never are, are you? He took a moment to laugh at himself, his fingers instinctively typed in his passcode without his eyes having to shift down. When they did look down they instantly squinted at the harsh light that was given off, he went to adjust the brightness but froze when he saw who the message was from. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em> Doesn’t Know What An Orgasm Is (Tome)</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>: They don’t have your type of coffee. What should i get instead? ’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Serpine let out an irritated sigh followed by an eye roll, he began writing a long winded response about his servants incompetence but stopped when the realization hit him. His eyes snapped up, glaring into the dark trying to figure out who was there if Tome was still getting coffee. He could feel his heart began to race as he pushed the power button on his phone, blunging himself into darkness once again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The car had been parked down an ally which connected to two streets but was long enough to conceal the car with ease, the street lights were far enough away that the car could not be seen but this also meant that it was nearly impossible to see in and around the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he reached for the door, opening it. His hand slipped into the inside breast pocket and climbed out of the car. The cold air hit him instantly, almost knocking the air out of him but he was quick to regain it and head towards the shadows. Discreetly his hand slipped from his coat, concealing something in his hand and against his wrist while he walked, his footsteps quiet. His eyes locked onto the shadows, whatever-whoever was in it had stopped moving, they were standing stationary, or at least that's what Nefarian could make out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he drew closer the feeling grew stronger, he knew the person, or at least something was telling him he did but he couldn't work out what it was. This should have filled him with relief but it didn’t, there were many people he knew that wanted him dead, any of them could be lingering in the darkness before him. Could Tome have betrayed him like he did his friends, his family, his country?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lingered for a moment, biding his time, building up his strength. The item against his wrist slipped down into his hand and just as the figure stepped within range he lunged, dagger in hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The figure jumped back upon Serpine lunging, instinctively grabbing the adapt’s wrist and wristing it, not enough to break it but enough to cause pain. Quickly and without hesitation he threw the dagger into his free hand and plunged it into the upper arm of the figure which let out a pained grunt and pulled back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you really just stab me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Serpine froze, his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no.” Was the only thing he could get his mouth to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was an oh so familiar chuckle from the shadows as Baron Vengeous stepped out, the dagger protruding from his upper arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should I be alarmed with how unfazed I am to all of this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What were you thinking?!” Nefarian slammed his hands against Baron’s chest, “you scared the hell out of me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was the point.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another shove was given, this time a little hard and Baron stumbled but didn’t fall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You bastaー” The smaller of the two was cut off by a strong hand grabbing ahold of the collar of a neatly pressed shirt and pulling him into a kiss. Instinctively thin arms wrapped around the taller and pulled his closer, desperate for more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Im sorry, what were you saying?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The smaller’s thin lips curled into a smile as for a moment he was lost for words and caught off guard, his hands pressed against the taller’s chest. “Old man.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Home Sweet Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>it's kinda short i know, sorry. I'm still trying to get back into writing fanfiction and not my personal work.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The car ride was long and awkward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tome did his best to focus on the road but despite his best efforts his idle hands couldn’t help but pick at the leather steering wheel cover. As this unfolded Serpine spent his time explaining to his lover what he had missed during his imprisonment in Russia and Baron mainly complained about prison.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The safehouse they had been staying in over the year has been obtained through Tome using forged documents, Serpine didn’t see a point in pressing further for the information as it had gotten them what they needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was located outside of a small, mortal port-town up on a cliff surrounded by trees. The only road up to it was muddy and bumpy and didn’t treat his car the way it should.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside held a minimalistic look, the furniture was plain, simple and there was very little of it, just the things they thought they needed. A small two seater sofa sat against one wall, unused; a coffee table sat a meter or so from it and on the opposite wall was a bookshelf filled with books Nefarian had chosen, most of them held the symbol of the Faceless Church. The kitchen was very much the same, a table was pressed into the very corner with two seats around it and was empty just like most of the cupboards. The master bedroom housed a double bed, two bedside tables, a small chest of draws and a wardrobe. The second bedroom was much smaller and had less within it, just a bed and wardrobe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Serpine shuffled out of the car. Due to the length of the day his coffee had done nothing to boost his energy, Baron however was a different story. Freedom had given him what felt like a new lease on life, there were things to do, things that needed to be done and he didn’t know how much time he would have to do them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again Tome stood awkwardly as he held the car door for his Master, while Baron had already gotten out and was heading for the house. His Master had nothing to say to him as he slipped out of the car and brushed himself down before following his lover down the path and up to the front door. He pulled a set of keys out of the inside pocket to his coat, they jingled and clanged around as he found the correct key and slipped it into the lock, turning it right. The door unlocked and creaked open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome home.” Serpine said with a smirk as he held the door open for Baron who was quick to step in and look around. He followed behind leaving Tome alone outside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The evening was spent getting Vengeous settled in and fully caught up as well as making sure everyone had been fed and Tome was set out into the town to watch over everything, leaving the two lovers alone for a few hours. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tome took his time as he walked through the town. It was dead. Everyone had tucked in for the night like he’d wished he’d done but at the same time he was grateful to get away from it all and to not have to look at his new competition.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need a plan.” He muttered as he forced his hands into the pocket of his coat, his breath hung in the air. “He’s going to replace me. I can’t allow it. I won’t.” His voice hitched in his throat for a moment before he turned a corner and started walking back up the hill to the house.</span>
</p>
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